R Kelly will now spend decades behind bars, but the disgraced R&B star spent the same time evading justice.
The allegations were first made to the Grammy Award-winning singer in the 1990s.
But despite many women showing up, Kelly continued to tour and amass millions of views.
So why did it take so long to bring Kelly to justice?
Who is R Kelly?
R Kelly (whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly) is considered one of the most influential R&B artists of his generation and has sold over 70 million records worldwide.
He is best known for the 1996 hit I Believe I Can Fly, which won three Grammy Awards.
But before that, he had developed a reputation for his vision of R&B with songs like Bump & Grind and Sex Me.
He has also written and produced for many artists, including Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Aaliyah.
What did R Kelly do?
The former R&B star has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for using her fame to systematically sexually abuse young fans, some just children.
In September 2021, Kelly was found guilty of all charges in his New York sex trafficking trial, including a felony of display (essentially, running a criminal enterprise) and eight counts of violating the Mann Act, which makes illegal to catch people. across state borders for prostitution purposes.
A sketch of R Kelly’s courtroom during his sentencing hearing in federal court. (AP: Elizabeth Williams)
The Brooklyn Federal Court jury convicted him after learning that he used his entourage of directors and aides to meet girls, some of the crowds at his concerts, and keep them obedient, an operation that prosecutors said was tantamount to a criminal enterprise.
Among his alleged victims was the late singer Aaliyah, whom Kelly married briefly and illegally in 1994 when she was 15 years old. Kelly was 27 at the time.
Aaliyah worked with Kelly, who wrote and produced her 1994 debut album, Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number. He died in a plane crash in 2001 at the age of 22.
Why did it take so long to bring R Kelly to justice?
Kelly was one of the most prominent people tried on sexual charges during the #MeToo movement, with accusations dating back decades.
Despite allegations of her abuse of young girls, which began circulating in the 1990s, Kelly continued to be adored by legions of fans and sold millions of albums.
Journalist Jim DeRogatis first covered the singer’s alleged crimes in 2000 and told the story about Kelly’s infamous videotape, which showed the singer allegedly abusing and urinating on a 14-year-old girl.
Back then, court records showed the same pattern: Kelly used her fame to coerce underage girls into having sex.
After years of accusations, pressure on Sony Music increased to drop R Kelly, and protesters gathered in front of the company’s headquarters in New York in 2019. (AP: Richard Drew)
DeRogatis says there was a “settlement factory,” where any accuser would be paid for his silence, sometimes before even a case was presented publicly.
This method was in part what allowed Harvey Weinstein to continue abusing women for as long as he did.
But DeRogatis says systemic failures and racism also allowed Kelly to evade justice.
“I’m not so sure we would have seen the conviction or sentence today if he still had the money and fame he had to live up to his powers during the 1990s, until the 2000s,” DeRogatis told RN Breakfast after the sentence. .
“He’s broken. As he sang in the last song he released to the world: I’m a broken ass legend.
“In America justice is bought too often with money and fame and that’s what happened when he was first tried for child pornography in 2008.”
R Kelly still faces charges of child pornography in Chicago. (Antonio Pérez / Chicago Tribune via AP, Pool, File)
Kelly’s trial saw 22 witnesses testify, many of whom DeRogatis had not interviewed during the 30 years he has been reporting on the case, despite speaking to 68 women.
“Race is key in this, as many of the women told me,‘ I was a young black girl, who was going to believe me? ’” DeRogatis said.
“But you have to realize that women in general are not believed. America has just revoked women’s right to control their own bodies. The repercussions of not believing in our sisters, our women, our our daughters have never been so harsh in America as they are today.
“Chicago has a lot to respond to and the United States has a lot to respond to.
“All systems failed these dozens of young black girls.
“They all allowed him to keep preying on the girls as long as the money kept flowing.”
What have Kelly’s victims said?
The judge imposed Kelly’s sentence after hearing several survivors testify to how their exploitation affected their lives.
“You made me do things that broke my spirit. I literally wanted to die because of the bass you made me feel,” an unnamed survivor said, addressing Kelly directly.
Many of Kelly’s accusers say they are grateful for the sentence.
Lizzette Martinez told reporters R Kelly “ruined” her life and that she is grateful she “can’t hurt anyone else.” (Reuters: Brendan McDermid)
“Today has been a very special but tough day for us,” Lizzette Martinez told reporters off the court.
“I was a promising singer. She was a girl full of life. Very innocent but very driven, and robbed, basically, at the Adventure Mall, Florida, and I promised just a mentorship and I quickly became, me. Just I would say, a sex slave.
“That happened to me a long time ago. He was 17, I’m 45 today. I never thought I’d be here to see him responsible for the atrocious things he did to children.
“I don’t know what else to say, except I’m grateful.”
Kitti Jones, who appeared in the documentary series Surviving R Kelly after dating the singer from 2011 to 2013, also testified and told reporters that the result was “a long time to come.”
Kitti Jones described the result as a “victory” and said “I feel like I’m starting to get my life back on track.” (AP: Elizabeth Williams)
“A lot of people have been waiting for this, not just the survivors, but the families of the survivors,” he said.
“I’m not upset [it took so long], it was a different time when many of these things happened. It’s all a matter of time. And we were at the right time.
“This is a day where we are heard and believed, so it feels good.”
One of Kelly’s most notable victims was the late singer Aaliyah, whom Kelly married briefly and illegally in 1994 when she was 15 years old. Kelly was 27 at the time.
Aaliyah worked with Kelly, who wrote and produced her 1994 debut album, Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number. He died in a plane crash in 2001 at the age of 22.
Fans mourn Aaliyah’s death during a candlelight vigil in her memory on August 27, 2001 in Los Angeles. (Reuters: Addresses Latif)
During last year’s trial in Brooklyn, DeRogatis says a three-story billboard stood by the river in lower Manhattan that said “Aaliyah is coming,” announcing the release of the music of the deceased singer on the platforms of streaming.
“Someone very close to the family told me it was also a message for R Kelly, so today’s sentence is in part a claim for the damage he did to Aaliyah,” DeRogatis says.
“But Aaliyah was never unique. She was one of dozens of young women of color that this predator mistreated.”
What happens next?
Kelly has been jailed without bail since 2019.
He still faces charges of child pornography and obstruction of justice in Chicago, where a trial is scheduled to begin in August.
DeRogatis has described the upcoming proceedings as “horrible,” as several underage victims have to testify in a video-evidence trial, which was not present at the 2021 trial.
“This is not done. We have only begun, in court, to see the depth of his crime and abuse,” DeRogatis says.
“I’m sure he will be sentenced there and the sentences will be served consecutively. Even at the age of 30 today, he will be 85 before leaving.
“He’s spending the rest of his life in prison.”
ABC / children
Posted 1 hour ago 1 hour ago Thu, June 30, 2022 at 2:42 am, updated 51 m ago, 51 minutes ago, Thu, June 30, 2022 at 3:36 AM